Born in Canada, Gary Fisher was a psychologist who did pioneering work with LSD and psilocybin at a Southern California hospital in the late 1950s and early 1960s treating children who suffered from schizophrenia and autism. The children ranged in age from as young as four years old up to nearly thirteen years old. Although not all of the subjects responded positively to treatment, many did and there were a number of remarkable successes. One such case was his first patient, Nancy, who was wasting away, incoherent, suicidal, and had to be kept in restraints at all times (see middle photo). She underwent eleven psychedelic treatments over the course of less than a year, and got well enough that she was able to attend school at the hopital (see bottom photo). Fisher's work with psychedelics and children came to an end in late 1962, when he was no longer able to obtain LSD legally.

For a short while, Fisher and his family traveled with Timothy Leary, as Leary attempted to locate an overseas location to set up a psychedelic research facility. Fisher also did work at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center treating cancer patients who had intractable pain with LSD, helping them to psychologically prepare for death. Gary was also an accomplished artist, and he credited some of his inspiration to his use of psychedelics.